The cavern walls trembled as an unearthly roar echoed through the underground chamber. Dust and debris rained down from above, making the air thick with grit. Alina tightened her grip on her sword, her knuckles white with tension. Beside her, Dante flicked open a fresh dagger, his usual smirk nowhere to be found.
In front of them, standing at least fifteen feet tall, was the Abyssal Guardian—a monstrous being made of blackened stone and writhing shadows. Its eyes glowed with a sickly green light, and thick, jagged arms ended in claws capable of crushing boulders.
"Okay," Dante muttered. "Not gonna lie… I might be slightly regretting taking this quest."
Alina didn't respond. Her heart pounded in her chest as she analyzed the situation. The Guardian wasn't moving yet—it was watching them. Judging them.
This was their first boss monster. The first of many if they truly intended to climb the ranks.
No time for fear.
"Dante," Alina said quietly, not taking her eyes off the creature, "we bring it down fast. No hesitation."
Dante rolled his shoulders. "You got it, Captain."
The Guardian let out another guttural growl, its massive body lurching forward.
The fight had begun.
---
The moment the Guardian moved, the entire chamber shook. It slammed a clawed hand down where Alina had been standing just seconds ago, cracking the stone floor into jagged pieces. She had barely managed to roll out of the way, her sword flashing as she slashed at its exposed arm.
Clang!
The blade bounced off its rocky hide without leaving so much as a scratch.
Alina barely had time to react before the Guardian swung its other arm at her like a battering ram. She ducked, but the sheer force of the wind pressure sent her skidding back.
"Bad news," she called out. "It's resistant to physical attacks."
Dante, who had managed to land a few strikes on its legs, cursed. "Great. And here I was hoping stabbing it a hundred times would work."
The Guardian turned toward him. The green glow in its eyes pulsed, and in an instant, black tendrils erupted from its body, aiming straight for Dante.
"Ah, hell—"
Dante barely had time to leap backward before the tendrils pierced the ground where he had been standing. One of them managed to graze his arm, and he hissed in pain as dark energy spread like veins across his skin.
"Dante!" Alina shouted.
He gritted his teeth, shaking off the pain. "I'm fine! Just a little—"
The Guardian roared, and the tendrils lashed out again.
Alina rushed forward, using her sword to slice through the shadowy appendages. This time, they reacted differently—the moment her blade made contact, the tendrils disintegrated in a burst of black mist.
A weakness.
"Dante, the shadows are vulnerable to enchanted attacks!" Alina called out.
Dante blinked, then gave her a lopsided grin. "Guess I should've taken that magic class after all."
"No time for regrets!" Alina dodged another crushing blow from the Guardian's massive fist.
Their physical weapons weren't enough—but the tendrils could be destroyed. That meant there had to be another way to hurt it.
Think, Alina. Think.
Then she noticed it—the glow in its chest.
A pulsating, green core, flickering like a heartbeat.
"That's it," she whispered.
---
"Dante!" she shouted, barely dodging another attack. "The core in its chest—I think that's its weak point!"
Dante, who had been trying (and failing) to stab its legs, glanced up. His eyes locked onto the pulsing glow, and his grin returned. "Alright, I like where this is going. How do we hit it?"
Alina took a deep breath. "We need an opening. I'll distract it—"
"Nope, bad plan. You almost died last time you did that."
Alina glared at him. "Do you have a better idea?"
Dante twirled his daggers, stepping back as the Guardian swung a massive arm at him. "Yeah. We distract it together."
She hesitated. "That's—"
"—A genius plan, I know." Dante winked, then rushed in before she could argue.
Alina had no choice but to follow.
---
The two of them moved in perfect sync.
Dante zigzagged through the tendrils, using his agility to stay ahead of the attacks. Meanwhile, Alina charged straight at the monster, her sword glowing faintly as she focused all her energy into one strike.
The Guardian roared in frustration, swinging its arms wildly. It was trying to crush them both, but they were too fast.
Then—the opening.
Dante suddenly jumped onto its arm, using the momentum to launch himself straight toward its chest.
"NOW, ALINA!"
Alina leaped into the air, sword raised.
The Guardian saw them. It screeched, realizing too late what was happening.
Dante's daggers sank into the Guardian's shoulders, anchoring him in place.
At the same time, Alina brought her sword down with all her strength, slamming it straight into the core.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—an explosion of energy.
A shockwave ripped through the cavern, sending Dante and Alina flying backward. The Guardian's entire body shuddered, its form cracking as light erupted from within.
It let out one final, ear-splitting roar… before collapsing into a pile of shattered stone.
The battle was over.
---
Alina lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "We… did it."
Dante groaned, sitting up. "I feel like I got hit by a cart."
She turned her head to him. "You literally jumped at a fifteen-foot-tall monster. What did you expect?"
Dante shrugged. "Something cooler, honestly."
Alina let out a small chuckle.
She sat up, glancing at the pile of broken rock that had once been the Guardian. The glow from its core was gone.
Their first boss fight… and they had won.
But before she could let relief wash over her, something strange happened.
The remains of the Guardian began to shift.
"…Dante?" Alina's voice was tense.
He looked up. "Oh, come on. Tell me it's not coming back to life."
It wasn't.
Instead, a figure began to rise from the rubble.
A human figure.
The dust slowly cleared, revealing a man wrapped in black robes, his body covered in arcane symbols that pulsed with dark energy.
His piercing red eyes locked onto Alina.
And then, in a voice that sent a chill down her spine, he spoke.
"I see… So you're the one."